In the first nine months of the year, Salvadoran purchases abroad that make up the oil bill totaled $1.122 million, 9% less than the amount reported in the same period of 2018.
The oil bill is composed mainly of gasoline ($341.7 million), diesel ($307 million), liquefied gases and propane ($171 million) and fuel oil (Bunker C) with ($133.2 million), informed the Central Reserve Bank (BCR).
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $3.86, Nicaragua $3.62, Honduras $3.45, El Salvador $3.11, Guatemala $3.14 and Panama $2.89.
From the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador statement:
The current reference prices present their second consecutive increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel. This rise is because of the caution that exists due to the resumption of negotiations between the United States and China, scheduled for October 11 and 12, which generates uncertainty between investors and producers, as it is an agreement between the largest producer and the largest consumer of oil and oil products worldwide.
From January to June 2019, 52 environmental impact studies were presented to carry out works on electricity networks and build power generation plants in different areas of Central American countries.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects for which environmental impact studies (EIA) were submitted to the respective institutions of each country.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $3.97, Nicaragua $3.55, Honduras $3.40, El Salvador $3.09, Guatemala $3.09 and Panama $2.83.
From the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador statement:
The current reference prices show increases in the prices of gasoline and diesel, this is because of the recent armed attack on the country of Saudi Arabia, which is the world's second largest producer of oil and derivatives.
About $200 million is estimated to be invested in improvements to the Central American network, both nationally and regionally, to avoid the recurrence of service interruptions that occurred days ago.
On September 16, a power failure in Honduras caused the interruption of the service of approximately 40% of the area that make up the Central American countries that are interconnected.
In the first eight months of the year, Salvadoran purchases abroad that make up the oil invoice amounted to $1.015 million, which is 6% less than what was reported in the same period of 2018.
The invoice was composed mainly of gasoline ($305.2 million), diesel ($280.7 million), liquefied gases and propane ($154 million) and fuel oil (Bunker C) with $122.6 million, informed the Central Reserve Bank.
From 2020 onwards, the fuel used by ships worldwide should not exceed 0.5% sulphur concentration, forcing transporters to consume higher priced fuels, which could become even more expensive because of increased demand.
From January 1, 2020, the concentration of sulphur in the fuel consumed by maritime transport vessels must not exceed 0.5%, a limit that until now was at 3.5%.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $3.98, Nicaragua $3.62, Honduras $3.39, El Salvador $3.06, Guatemala $3.04 and Panama $2.88.
From the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:
The current reference prices present their third consecutive decline in gasoline prices and without any variation for low-sulfur diesel, this is because of the trade conflict between the United States and China, the largest consumers of oil and derivatives worldwide. On September 1, both nations-imposed tariffs on different products, the U.S. country for a value of US$300 billion, while China imposed tariffs of US$75 billion on different products, which highlights the 5% tax on oil and its derivatives. Because of these measures, international prices tended to fall, for fear of a fall in world demand.
Electricity generators claim that the Regional Operator Entity arbitrarily disconnects Guatemala from the rest of the countries in the region, and that since 2016 up to date the disconnections already add up to 600 hours.
The National Association of Generators of Guatemala (ANG) claims that the Regional Electricity Interconnection Commission (CRIE) does not comply with the resolutions of the Central American Court of Justice (CCJ), which ordered Guatemala to stop disconnections from the regional electricity system.
Banco Cuscatlán approved a $10 million loan for the construction of part of the Ventus wind farm, which will have a capacity of 54 MW and will be in the municipality of Metapán.
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $4.44, Nicaragua $3.61, Honduras $3.44, El Salvador $3.12, Guatemala $3.09 and Panama $2.93.
From the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador statement:
The reference prices for gasoline and diesel add their second consecutive decline for the current fortnight, the reductions are because of increases in production and refining by U.S.
The state-owned company LaGeo plans to invest in its geothermal fields in Chinameca and San Vicente to increase its generation capacity to an additional 80 megawatts.
In order to finance the works, the public company LaGeo, a subsidiary of the Lempa River Hydroelectric Executive Commission (CEL Group), is negotiating a $232 million loan with the World Bank.
In El Salvador, a charging station for electric vehicles will be put into operation in Plaza Malta, located on the road to the Port of La Libertad.
This will be the first electrolinera (electric station) in the country that will serve the general public, because since 2018 there is another station of this type, but is within the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA).
In El Salvador, it was announced that in early 2020 work will begin on the expansion of the electricity transmission network in Tamanique, in La Libertad department.
Executives of the Transmission Company of El Salvador (Etesal) specified that the project contemplates the construction of a substation in the municipality of Tamanique, which will have a capacity of 50 megavoltamperium (MVA), which will be connected to the substation of Talnique, also in La Libertad, through a transmission line of 115 kilovolts (kV).
Price per gallon of regular gasoline: Costa Rica $4.38, Nicaragua $3.78, Honduras $3.53, El Salvador $3.21, Guatemala $3.24 and Panama $3.03.
From the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador statement:
The reference prices for gasoline and diesel present important declines for the current fortnight, although the United States for several weeks had reflected losses in its reserves, in the last weekly report provided by the IEA, it is reported that increased its oil products and derivatives. Oil increased by 2.4 million barrels after 7 weeks of losses. Likewise, gasoline increased 4.4 million barrels, after two weeks of losses, together with distillates, such as diesel, showed a 1.5-million-barrel increase. The changes in reserves allowed international prices of oil derivatives to show a downward trend.